The following background information may present examples of specific aspects of the prior art (e.g., without limitation, approaches, facts, or common wisdom) that, while expected to be helpful to further educate the reader as to additional aspects of the prior art, is not to be construed as limiting the present invention, or any embodiments thereof, to anything stated or implied therein or inferred thereupon.
Typically, floor demolition involves forcibly removing a layer of the floor or subfloor with crow bars, sledge hammers, and prying tools. Thus, demolishing, or replacing a floor requires multiple functions, including prying off boards, tiles, or carpets; scraping off adhesives; flipping tiles and boars; and removing nails from the floor or flat substrate. For example, in carpet laying and vinyl installation, installers must remove vinyl or other floor covering from a floor that involves cove base. The old vinyl is underneath the cove base. The old vinyl and cove base must be pried off, and adhesives scraped off in a short period of time.
This type of floor installation work requires a tool that has straight edges and an elongate handle for prying. Also, a curvilinear edge may be necessary to adapt to corners and wall boards. This may require multiple tools and scrapers. Further, this type of labor often requires the installer to bend over or work on the knees, which is taxing and time consuming.
It is common for older homes to have lumber that is very difficult to pry apart. Conventional pry bars are of insufficient size to pry apart larger boards. Conventional pry bars quickly tire the operator out because of the added strength needed to pry apart the boards. Thus, there is a need for a tool that allows the user to safely and precisely remove flooring material while performing demolition work. In the current practice, a hammer or pry bar is used to separate the floor material from its base.
Often, sledgehammers are used in floor demolition projects. Sledgehammers are necessarily heavy however and it is often difficult for an individual to use a sledgehammer effectively for an entire work shift. Moreover, the use of sledgehammers in demolition projects often causes heavy damage to the materials comprising the structure being demolished.
Often, crowbars and pry bars are used in floor demolition projects. A crowbar relies in large part for its utility upon the ability of the operator to drive the wedge-shaped end of the crowbar between the two members to be separated. Because the surface area of this wedge-shaped end is relatively small, the ability of the operator to bring suitable forces to bear on the members to be separated is significantly limited. Moreover, because the forces that are brought to bear are concentrated in a relatively small area, that is, over the surface of the wedge-shaped end, exertion of such forces gives rise to undesirable stress concentrations which can lead to cracking, breakage or other damage to the materials intended to be separated.
Typically, wrecking tools should be constructed to be operated in a way that effectively separates joined structural elements while minimizing damage to the separated structural elements and to the surrounding structure. Furthermore, the wrecking tool should be constructed so that it may be readily and effectively employed even in relatively constricted spaces, and for relatively long periods of time. Finally, the wrecking tool should be constructed so that it is capable of being employed in a variety of different orientations and configurations such that work can be efficiently and effectively performed on one or more structural elements in a variety of different ways.
Other proposals have involved floor demolition tools. The problem with these demolition tools is that they do not provide a claw, a tab, and a nail-removing aperture in the same plate area. Also, they require a user to stoop over, kneel, or bend down to engage the floor. Also, the handle used to control the demolition tool is not easily accessible. Even though the above cited floor demolition tools meet some of the needs of the market, a floor demolition tool that engages the floor for removing, scraping, prying, flipping, and replacing components on, and integral, with the floor in an efficient manner, and that leverages the shape and length of the tool so that a user does not require stooping over, kneeling, or bending down to engage the floor, and also provides a central aperture and both straight and curvilinear edges and claws that facilitate engagement with boards, tiles, adhesives, and nails on the floor, is still desired.